Salem State University trustees pick Keenan to succeed Meservey

Salem State University Board of Trustees has voted to recommend John D. Keenan to the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education (BHE) as the university’s 14th president.

The recommendation is still subject to review and the blessing of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, a vote expected at the tail end of June, according to the university's public relation's department.

“Throughout our extensive search and interview process, we sought a candidate who most exemplified the characteristics put forth in our presidential leadership profile at the start of this search,” said Paul Mattera, chairman of the trustees and a member of the presidental search committee. “Among a number of characteristics crucial to building on Salem State’s momentum, we felt strongly that the university’s next president should bring a strategic focus, a commitment to academic excellence and student success and the ability to act as a strong external representative.”

Trustees' vote culminates a five-month presidential search. Keenan beat out not only 106 applicants from 37 states and the District of Columbia as well as three international candidates but also three finalists.The search started in January, when current Salem State University President Pat Meservey announced she would retire at the academic year's end after a decade-long tenure.

Keenan, a Salem native who graduated from the city's public schools and a first-generation college graduate, is an attorney who formerly represented Salem in the Massachusetts State House from 2005-14. He holds a bachelor's degree from Harvard College and a juris doctorate from Suffolk University Law School.

During his time in the State House, he worked alongside Meservey to help change the former Salem State College to university status in 2010.

Before becoming a lawmaker, Keenan served as a prosecutor in the Essex County District Attorney Office's Domestic Violence Unit. He also worked in Salem City Hall as city solicitor under mayors Neil Harrington and Stanley Usovicz.

Keenan currently serves as general counsel and vice president for administration at the university. In that dual role, he oversees the university’s day-to-day operations in support of its academic mission, human resources and equal opportunity, capital planning and facilities, information technology, risk and asset management and university police.